


Homecoming

by Lenny9987



Series: Lenny's Imagine Claire and Jamie Prompts [34]
Category: Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: book 9 speculation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2018-11-15 12:05:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11230590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lenny9987/pseuds/Lenny9987
Summary: So a large part of this new fic is what I have in mind as something that could happen in Book 9 (but I also know probably/definitely won’t). I was outlining it to Gotham one night a WHILE back and promised her I’d write it for her and since so much of it fits with various prompts we already have in the drafts, it just made sense to use it here on Imagine.Also a small disclaimer: I do not read the Daily Lines and in fact, try to avoid them (I prefer passages with full context and like my first read through the book to happen without me getting constantly distracted by my brain jumping up and going, ‘oh, I remember when DG posted this bit,’ or ‘I guess X scene was edited out/down’).





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: William is present when the Mackenzies return. He witnessed Jamie and Brianna's loving and reunion and it makes him wonder more about Jamie. Jamie also reintroduces them as brother and sister.
> 
>  
> 
> To make this fic's start fit with this specific prompt, there’s a little bit of canon tweaking necessary, namely that the new big house is already finished and Ian and Rachel have just moved into their own very recently completed cabin. 
> 
> Enjoy.

There was a great deal of confusion as they all talked over one another, hugging and squeezing and kissing and laughing and crying. Jamie nearly collapsed under Jem’s weight as he tried to hoist the lad onto his back to carry him up to the big house but Claire and Brianna rushed to steady them and with another laugh they were off to get the MacKenzies settled in.

“Ian’s married and they have a baby,” Claire explained to Brianna, the two of them lagging a few steps behind. “Your _uncle_ Ian passed, I’m afraid, a few years ago now but your father was able to be with him and he brought your aunt Jenny with him. She’s staying with Ian and Rachel now the baby’s come.”

“Jenny’s here?” Brianna said with surprise. “And where did you tell her Roger and I were?”

Claire paused and turned to her daughter, her voice dropping low. “She knows now. Everything. When we went to Scotland and Ian was… we told them both the whole truth.”

Brianna just nodded.

“She’ll be thrilled to see you, though,” Claire assured her. “And to meet Jem and Mandy.”

“We’ll have to go tomorrow to see them,” Brianna promised.

“Actually… Since they’ve just finished with their new house, they’re having a gathering of sorts there tonight to celebrate… Sort of a barn raising,” Claire said. “I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to have you there and celebrate your return as well. I know Ian’s missed you as much as your father and I have and you’ll love Rachel.”

“Sounds like it’ll be a long night,” Brianna laughed. “It’s just such a relief to be back after everything that’s happened.”

Jamie, Roger, and Jem had reached the big house and Jamie was showing it off––it had just been finished it a few weeks before.

Claire looked around.

“Where’s Mandy? It must all be a bit overwhelming for her here,” Claire remarked then added sadly, “She can’t possibly remember us.”

Brianna looked around for her daughter too, then sighed with relief when she spotted her further down the path staring back at the road they’d walked a short time earlier.

“Mandy is… I’m not entirely sure how to describe it,” Brianna confessed, telling Claire quickly about the experiments Joe had helped her conduct with the children back in Boston. “Whatever it is she’s got it stronger than Jem but even he would say things about Da that… Especially at the old family cemetery…” She shivered. “I’m not sure what to make of it but if Mandy says or does something that seems… _familiar_ … It’ll take some getting used to but if it helps, I don’t think she’ll be shy with you and Da.”

“What’re you looking at Mandy, dear?” Claire asked quietly.

Her dark curls were wild in the light mountain breeze and when she turned her head it blew them across the face of her red-haired doll, which she clutched tightly to her chest.

“Someone’s coming,” she informed them, then turned back to stare at the road that wound along the edge of the clearing and could be seen a short ways into the woods while the trees remained thin, but soon it wound around a bend and dropped out of sight to head further down the mountain.

Claire squinted then turned to Brianna who had been squinting as well.

“Mandy, honey, I don’t see anyone coming,” Brianna responded. When Claire caught her eye, Brianna tilted her head as if to say, _See what I mean?_

“But he’s there,” Mandy insisted.

Claire raised a hand to shield her eyes and then reached for Brianna who had crouched to be at Mandy’s level.

“She’s right,” Claire exclaimed. “There’s a wagon coming.”

“Who could it be?” Brianna asked mimicking Claire’s posture. “You’re not expecting anyone are you?”

Claire snorted. “No, but you lot still showed up, didn’t you?”

“Mandy honey, go tell Da and Grandda that someone’s coming,” Brianna instructed.

Mandy ran back to the house as Claire’s feet began to pull her towards the path leading down to the road. The wagon made its way into the clearing by the Higgins’ cabin and Amy emerged. Claire could only tell that there appeared to be a man and a woman in the wagon with possibly a child in the woman’s arms. Their hats obscured their faces but Amy’s gestures clearly indicated that she was explaining the way up to the big house.

“Ye should see the surgery yer da built for yer mam,” Roger called as he made his way from the house back down to where Claire and Brianna still watched and waited. “It’s bigger’n the last one.”

“The kids?”

“They’re climbin’ yer da like a jungle gym. Sounds like they’ll each find playmates over at Ian’s tonight. Germain and a lass called Fanny were sent o’er early to help get things ready.”

“Mama was just telling me.”

“Looks like they’re makin’ their way up,” Roger remarked as the wagon turned toward the steeper path up to the big house’s overlook. The man climbed down then helped the woman––who definitely held a baby in her arms––then he took hold of the horses’ reins to guide the creatures and the lightened wagon up the path.

Jamie came along with Jem hanging from his back and Mandy wrapped around his leg.

“Miss Mandy says we’ve more visitors on the way. I told her she and Jem might have to sleep in the barn wi’ the horses to be sure there’s room, unless someone doesna mind sleepin’ on the bed in yer surgery.”

Jem let go of Jamie and dropped to the ground. “I’ll go see if they need help,” he exclaimed and broke off into a run before any of the adults could stop him.

“Wait for me!” Mandy cried and hurried after him.

“Watch your feet!” Brianna called after them before closing her eyes, unable to watch as her reckless children tore downhill to besiege the poor wanderers.

Jamie chuckled and wrapped an arm around his daughter, pulling her into his chest and pressing a kiss to her brow. “They seem happy in spite of everything.”

“It’s good to be home and all together again,” Brianna nodded, resting her head against Jamie’s shoulder and putting her arms around him. “We’ve missed you.”

“Mrs… Friend Claire!” Dottie Hunter called awkwardly then shifted the baby in her arms to wave.

“Oh,” Claire gasped before turning briefly to Jamie who had gone pale and still enough for Brianna’s brow to furrow.

It was now clear the man leading the horses on foot was not Dottie’s husband. At his cousin’s exclamation, William Ransom had looked up in time to see two children barreling toward them and a ways further up Mother Claire and Jamie Fraser with two others, a younger man and woman whose hair had unmistakably come from her father.

Jem reached them first and smiled with triumph.

“D’ye need help wi’ yer horses?”

“I… I think I can manage,” William said hesitantly, staring at Jem with intent curiosity. The boy looked familiar beyond his obvious resemblance to his grandfather.

“Who might you–– _thee––_ be?” Dottie asked.

“Jem MacKenzie.” Mandy finally reached them, panting after her run. “My sister’s Mandy. Do ye ken Grandda and Grannie?”

“Yes, actually,” William said turning to get the horses moving again. Jem and Mandy walked a short ways ahead of the visitors. “I’m William Ransom and this is my cousin, Mrs. Hunter.”

“Thee can call me Dottie,” she insisted with a smile for Mandy.

“Wha’s yer bairn called?” Mandy asked pointing to the fidgeting bundle in Dottie’s arms.

“Her name is Minnie, for her grandmother.”

“William… Dottie!” Claire called as she met them on their way up. Jamie, Brianna, and Roger remained waiting in the clearing by the ledge. “What brings the two of you here? Is Denny all right?”

“Yes,” Dottie said with a smile that was clearly forced. “But he’s with the army still and with the baby… He wanted us somewhere safe and with family if possible so Cousin William agreed to bring me here to see if Friend––Sister––Rachel and Brother Ian… I should have written first to give Thee warning but it was faster to simply come in person…”

Claire smiled and stepped forward to peer at the blinking baby in Dottie’s arms. “May I?”

Dottie nodded and looked relieved to have Claire take hold of the baby.

“I’m sure Rachel and Ian will be happy to have you to stay with them and this little one,” Claire cooed at Minnie who gurgled and stuck her hand in her mouth, “has a cousin to meet.”

“Really?” Dottie reached to take Minnie back from Claire as the child began to fuss with hunger, her fist proving unsatisfying.

“William, you can stay here at the house with us,” Claire insisted. “For as long as you want.”

“Thank you, Mother––Mrs. Fraser. But I don’t expect I’ll need to stay more than the night,” he protested, not looking at her but rather staring at the ground. His jaw clenched tight and Claire remembered something vague Ian had mentioned in passing about William and Rachel.

“Ye’ll come to the party tonight though,” Mandy objected. “Grannie and Mam said they was havin’ a party tonight. We’re gonna suprise ‘em.”

“They’ll be surprised all right,” Roger said hoisting Mandy up and settling her on his shoulders. As he got hold of her foot in one hand and felt her fingers get a tight grip in his hair, he held his other hand out to William. “Roger MacKenzie. I believe we met once before a few years ago now.”

Recognition dawned on William’s face and there was a brief but vibrant flush that immediately followed and quickly suppressed.

“I believe you’re correct, Mr. MacKenzie.” William returned the handshake politely.

“Are ye comin’ to the party tonight?” Mandy reiterated, not having forgotten that William had yet to promise he’d join them.

“Oh uh…”

“You lot can go on ahead to Ian and Rachel’s with Grandda,” Claire said as they came up to Jamie and Brianna. “He’ll show you and Dottie here the way. I’ll stay back a while and help William with the horses and to unload the wagon. We’ll also need to get the rooms made up for so many guests. I’m sure William wouldn’t mind helping with that.” She looked to Jamie whose eyes had gone wet in that painful way of someone who hasn’t been able to blink. “Jenny and Rachel will be grateful for the help and Ian will be after your company setting up outside.”

“Are ye sayin’ we should be goin’ now?” Jem asked, confused.

Brianna looked up at Jamie, then over at her mother, before landing on William who was looking between the ground and Jamie.

“William,” Jamie finally spoke. “Welcome.”

“Mr. Fraser,” William muttered quietly.

“Thank thee Friend Fras––James,” Dottie said stepping forward and giving a small bob of her head. “It is kind of thee to welcome us to your–– _thine––_ home.”

“Why’s she talkin’ funny, Da?” Mandy whispered loudly into Roger’s ear.

He gave her leg a little pinch. “Dinna be rude, Amanda,” he hissed back.

“Please, let me introduce our daughter, Brianna, and her family,” Jamie said broadly with a smile for Dottie. He still had an arm around Brianna but he let his hold on her slacken. “Her husband, Roger Mac, and their bairns, Jeremiah and Amanda. We’ve another grandson, Germain, stays wi’ us here and the lass William kens, Fanny, as well. They’re already with Ian and Rachel to get ready for the gathering. Fanny’s quite taken wi’ the wee bairn and if ye bring another for her to play wi’ ye’ll have to keep an eye on her to be sure ye get yer wean back.”

Dottie laughed but there were tears in her eyes. “It sounds like precisely what Denny wanted for us,” she said. “Somewhere cheery and safe away from the war.”

“It is that,” Jamie nodded. “Now Bree, Mrs. Hunter here is Lord John Gray’s niece––ye’ll remember John, of course. She’s wed to one of yer mam’s surgeon friends from the war, Denny Hunter.”

“Denny is Ian’s Rachel’s brother,” Claire added.

Bree laughed, a little higher and more self-conscious than usual. “You need to cool it with the names unless you’re going to write it out on a piece of paper and quiz me on it later. It’ll be easier to remember once I have the faces to go with the names.” She reached over and shook the other woman’s hand.

“Thee can begin with Dottie,” she said, bowing her head to Brianna after releasing her hand.

“And William…” Jamie said, using his hand on Brianna’s shoulder to turn her slightly towards him as well. “Yer brother.” He said it quietly, now as an attempt to whisper but because of the tightness that rose in his throat at being able to say it at all.

Brianna looked to Claire who gave her a small nod.

“Yes,” William said with his head held high as though prepared for battle. “I know. Dottie does as well. And I’m assuming you’ve known all along. I… I remember now… meeting you and your family in the street that day.”

“I’m confused,” Jem declared. “Are we no goin’ to Uncle Ian’s?”

“Of course we are,” Roger said putting a hand to Jem’s head and twisting his wrist to turn the lad around. “And yer grandda’s goin’ to lead the way.”

Jamie sighed and blinked a few times as though shaking off a stupor. “Aye. We can leave now, if Mrs. Hunter is agreeable. She has been travelling for some time today already and if she needs a rest––”

“Actually, I need the walk,” she asserted, her eyes watching William who held tight to the horses’ reins and made no move to lead them further while so many people remained in the clearing. “I’ve been sitting in the wagon for hours and my legs need the movement.”

“How’re your arms?” Brianna asked stepping over and offering to take the baby. “If you’ve been sitting, you’ve probably been carrying her longer.”

Again, Dottie was relieved to pass the light weight of the baby off to another, carefully tucking in the ends of little Minnie’s blanket. “Thee is too kind.”

There was some maneuvering as a small bag of Dottie’s things was put together from the wagon. The rest would be brought over to Ian and Rachel’s cabin when the housing arrangements were settled more definitively. William remained silent and rather stoic as Claire guided most of the efforts to get Jamie and the MacKenzies on their way.

“Ye’re all right wi’ him, Sassenach?” Jamie asked quietly as she stepped up to bid him a brief farewell.

“I’ll make sure he agrees to stay for a while,” she promised him before rising on her toes to give him a light kiss. “He’s clearly overwhelmed just now and a little time to process it all is what he needs.”

Jamie pressed his forehead to hers and sighed with relief. “Aye. I’ll speak wi’ Brianna on the matter, then.”

“She’s bound to have questions of her own,” Claire agreed. “Of the two of them, I’m not sure which of us has the more enviable task.”

Jamie chuckled and kissed Claire’s forehead one last time before moving off towards the path recently cut through the trees leading a little further around the mountain and then down to the small clearing where Ian and Rachel’s cabin was nestled.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: On the Ridge: Imagine Claire explaining to William about the "other" William - Jamie's late older brother Willie; which Jamie overhears and joins to add his own memories/insights. (I obviously love me some William - Jamie stories. I think that relationship has some real potential going forward and am eager to see what you can do with it) Love your work THANKS!!

William followed Claire to the barn with the horses and the wagon. 

“I appreciate the offer of a bed for the night,” he said awkwardly, “but I don’t think–”

“Nonsense,” Claire interrupted. “There’s no way I’m letting you wander off and make a camp on your own like that when you’ve already been traveling for Lord knows how long without the comforts of a home. You’re staying at least a few days.”

“A few days?” William made a face of discomfort at the horse poking its head over the door of its stall. The horse snorted with either derision or amusement before burying its muzzle in the bale of hay waiting in the corner. William rolled his eyes and moved on to the second horse while Claire came along behind him and passed in a bucket of water for the hungry creature. 

“I know it’s all a bit daunting just now,” she said apologetically. “We weren’t expecting to see Bree and Roger here again.”

“Yes, I seem to recall they were traveling somewhere distant when I met them before.” William was happy to shift the conversation from himself but felt his ears heat at the flash of curiosity he had about Brianna and her family… his  _ sister _ .

“They had decided to go to France,” Claire confirmed. William looked up, furrowing his brow but Claire was looking at the horse in front of her, reaching out to rub the side of its neck. There was something  _ off _ about her tone. “The war seemed… inevitable at that point and with the children… They wanted to be as far from whatever was coming and Jamie has family in France––a cousin who’s a wine merchant and one of his nephews as well. We haven’t had much time do discuss what it is that’s brought them back yet… and with no word of warning to us either.”

With the horses settled and the wagon tucked away out of the sun, Claire led William towards the big house.

“If they’re going to be staying here with you for some time, I’d hate to be an added burden,” William insisted, hoping he’d found his way to back out of an extended visit. 

“You are not and never will be a burden, William,” Claire told him with firm gentleness. “The children can all share a room easily which will leave a room for Bree and Roger and a room for you. There’s the table in my surgery and even the barn loft if we need more room.”

William peeked his head around one doorway into the small front parlor to one side of the entryway then turned to investigate the larger space opposite. 

His eyes widened. 

“You can go in and look around if you like,” Claire said from behind him. He could hear the smile in her voice. 

He stepped into the room. There was a large rectangular table in the center, long and wide enough for a person to lie down upon without the need to worry about falling to the floor. A large cauldron hung from a hook that could easily be swung over the fire when necessary. Instead of an oven for baking bread built into the bricks, small shelves had been built into the recesses and were lined with pottery containers labeled with various herbs. A desk sat beneath the light of one window and a work bench lined the wall at the other. A single chair was currently tucked into the corner of the room leaving plenty of room for moving about the space. He turned around. Books lined the lower shelves of a the wall next to the doorway while bandages and medical instruments occupied the higher shelves. 

“It’s larger than the last surgery Jamie built me,” she informed William. 

“He built all this?” 

Claire nodded. “Well, he designed it and had help with the construction part. But yes, he built it for me.” She smiled to herself as she ran a palm along the top of her work bench. 

“What does that door lead to?” he inquired before he thought of whether the question might be considered prying.

The door was next to the room’s outer wall a foot or so from the hearth. 

“That connects this room to Jamie’s study next door.” They had taken to dealing with their work outdoors in the cooler air of the mornings when possible before retreating inside during the heat of the afternoon. It was a comfort to them both to leave the door open between the rooms so they could hear each other moving about; of course, it allowed them additional discretion at other times too, a level of discretion that came in quite handy with Germain and Fanny around the house. “There’s an entrance on the main hall too. The parlor and dining room adjoin similarly and the dining room connects to the kitchen at the back of the house as well.” 

William nodded, his eyes still drawn to the closed door that led to Jamie’s personal space. William wondered what books lined his shelves; did he have tokens of his time as a soldier the like his father and Uncle Hal with their dress swords and pistols; what about art on the walls…

“I think I’ll put you in the room over the parlor. It’s furthest from the children,” she explained. “Roger and Bree can have the room next to them. Jamie and I are on the opposite side of the landing so we’ll be fine too.” 

“You think they’ll cause trouble?”

“Oh, I  _ know _ they will,” Claire said with a laugh, turning to leave the surgery for the stairs. “Germain and Jem especially. It won’t take long for them to get reacquainted and both have a knack for it. I shudder to think what they’ll accomplish when they combine their efforts.”

Claire led William to his room opening the windows to air out the space. It hadn’t been used yet and the scent of the sawdust still undercut the sharper odors of the paint Jamie had used on the walls. 

“Depending on how the crops do this year, we were talking about looking to order wallpaper for some of these rooms––the parlor and dining room first, but then a few of the rooms up here.” Jamie still had so many plans for the house though he was happily setting them aside to enjoy the fruits of his labors since it had finally become habitable. “You take your time settling in up here. Rest if you need it. I’ll be down in the kitchen fixing something to eat when you’re ready.”

She left him alone then and William spent some time poking around the spare room and wondering what he should do about staying or leaving.

Every inch of him crawled with discomfort at the thought of staying and it made him ashamed to admit it to himself. He knew it was useless to even pretend that being away from Jamie Fraser made it possible to pretend nothing had changed and yet, a piece of him wished that were the case, that he could go back to that time before simply by getting away from the players in that revelation. 

But he wasn’t a coward. And he  _ was _ curious, especially about his sister and what she made of everything. How much did she know? And  _ when _ had she learned the truth? She must have known when they’d met before. 

There was also Fanny to consider. He had no doubt that she was well cared for but he needed to be sure for her sister’s sake and she would want to see him too. 

So then, how long did he have to stay until it was no longer impolite to leave? A few days, he decided; a week at most. He should be sure that Dottie settled in with her sister-in-law and…  _ Ian Murray _ . That was the other reason he wanted desperately to get away. The prospect of encountering Rachel and Ian made his stomach bottom out. He wanted Rachel to be happy and he knew Ian was a good man… but seeing them happy together… He wasn’t sure he was ready for that yet. The longer he stayed, the more likely it became that he would find himself in one or both of their company for some length of time. 

He didn’t know how long he’d been up there pacing about and musing to himself but he finally built up the courage to go back downstairs and find Claire. 

It must’ve been some time because she had tea, warmed bread with honey, and some heated ham ready for him on a tray set near the hearth in her surgery. The chair from the corner had been pulled over to the table in the middle of the room but she stood at her work table threading curved needles and assembling suture kits for future use. 

“It’s tedious work,” she said, looking up into the window where he suddenly became aware of his reflection, “but having these prepared ahead of time can be enough to save a life. You should eat something,” she remarked, setting her work aside to face him.

“I’ll stay but only for a week,” he blurted. “I need to be sure Dottie settles and then I’ll be on my way again. You’ll have enough going on with your daughter and her family.”

“They’re your family too,” Claire insisted, gently. “I know you may not be ready to hear it or to accept it, but it doesn’t change the fact that as far as the rest of us are concerned, you are.”

William walked over to the tray Claire had prepared and lifted it from the floor to the table, wincing at the heat of the handles even as he was relieved to look away from Claire. Her face showed everything she thought––and clearly she thought he was behaving like a petulant and stubborn child––but he also couldn’t shake the impression that she noticed everything about him with her piercing amber eyes. It made him feel like a trapped insect. 

“It would mean a lot to Jamie and to Bree if you stayed for a while––start with a week, but please consider staying longer. You might be surprised by how much it grows on you.”

“How much what grows on me?”

“Being a part of a family.” 

He looked up at her then. “I have a family. Papa, Uncle Hal and Aunt Minnie… I have my cousins…” But he knew that, while what he said was true, what he’d witnessed between Jamie, Claire, Ian, and the rest of them, however briefly, was different. He gobbled a slice of the honey-soaked bread and enjoyed the feeling of it sticking to the roof of his mouth, preventing him from having to say anything. 

“I think you should have a talk with Brianna,” Claire said with a nod and amused smile that confused William. “She reacted about as well as you did when she learned the truth about Jamie being her father.”

William swallowed hard, the honey on the bread sticking to his throat as it went down. 

“What do you––She didn’t––Why?”

“I thought Jamie died at Culloden. I was already carrying Bree when it happened… I remarried and he wanted to raise her as his own. It wasn’t until after he died and I learned that Jamie survived that I told her.”

William blinked and reached for the cup of tea. It gave him something to hold while he thought about what she’d told him. 

“Is that why it doesn’t bother you? Whatever there was between him and my mother?”

Claire’s expression went hard for a moment and color flooded her cheeks but she took a deep breath before answering and her tone remained controlled. “It does bother me but not for the reasons you think… and some of those reasons as well,” she conceded. “But none of that affects my opinion of you or how I think of you,” she insisted. 

“You look at me and see him,” William guessed. 

“I look at you and see the son he and I were supposed to have together… the son we  _ would _ have had together if circumstances had been… more forgiving.” The smile she offered was small and a little sad. “The first time I was pregnant and we discussed baby names, we thought about the name William if it was a boy, for Jamie’s older brother… he died of smallpox when Jamie was just a boy.”

William blinked in surprise but could only think of questions that he knew it would be indelicate to ask. What did she mean by the first time? How many half-siblings did he have? 

“Part of me was thrilled when I heard they’d called ye William,” Jamie said from the doorway to the surgery, startling both William and Claire. 

She was only half surprised they hadn’t heard him come through the door. William nearly dropped his cup of tea and was profoundly thankful he’d finished the contents. He set it down gently and pushed the rest of the tray away but stayed where he was. 

Jamie’s face was flushed from a combination of self-consciousness and the hasty walk out to Ian and Rachel’s followed by his equally hasty walk back. 

“I couldna claim ye as mine but knowin’ ye had my brother’s name… it made ye feel a bit more mine nonetheless. I cannae say was it down to me or no, but I called ye Willie every time I saw ye as a babe. As ye grew and yer grandparents and yer aunt and nurses started callin’ ye that too…” Tears pooled in Jamie’s eyes but he held them in check as William and Claire waited. He blinked them back and cleared his throat, looking to Claire for reassurance. “Yer cousin left something behind and I said I’d come fetch it. Ian and Rachel seem pleased to have her and the bairn stay wi’ them as long as she needs. I left Bree and Roger talkin’ with Jenny. I’ll tell ye the rest later tonight,  _ mo nighean donn,  _ and I’m to be sure ye ken ye’re welcome to come and join the festivities tonight too,” he addressed William. 

“Thank the Murrays for me,” William said stirring from his spot at the central table, “But I think I’m going to go up for the night a bit early. I’ve been pushing myself to keep vigilant with Dottie and the baby. Between that and Minnie’s crying in the night, I’m afraid I’m dead on my feet.” 

Jamie stepped back from the doorway to let William pass and head up the stairs. 

Claire was at his side and squeezing his hand until they heard the bedroom door close above them. 

“He’s agreed to stay at least a week,” Claire whispered. “And I’m pretty sure he’ll reach out to Bree.”

Jamie nodded and then his lips twitched. “He’ll have a devil of a time trying to avoid her if he doesn’t.” 

Claire felt the chuckle rattle through Jamie’s chest as he pulled her against him and rested his chin on her head. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: How about a conversation between Bree and Jenny after Jenny learns the truth.

Brianna was grateful to Roger for urging the children to run ahead up the path and then keeping Dottie preoccupied so she and her father could hang back with a measure of privacy.

“How did he find out?” Brianna asked.

Jamie sighed and raised a hand to run it over his head like he was trying to think of the best way to explain. “I thought yer mother said she’d written to ye about it––but maybe ye’ll no have gotten them yet? We havena figured the best way––”

“We got them,” Brianna assured him. “And we read a lot of them––we didn’t want to rush through and finish them too quickly. But then everything happened and I read them fast to see––”

“What do ye mean by that? What happened that brought ye back?” Jamie interrupted.

“Nice try,” Brianna said with a smile Jamie had sorely missed. “I asked you first.”

With a resigned roll of his eyes, Jamie told Brianna about the misunderstanding concerning the ship he and Jenny had taken, what John Grey had done to try and protect Claire, and William’s appearance during Jamie’s resurrection. He only paused now and again to shout directions for Roger to turn or keep straight with the path. 

“From what yer mother and Jenny said, he didna take it well,” Jamie confessed, his face and neck darkening. 

“I can imagine,” Brianna said with a wry laugh.

Jamie flushed briefly. “I ken yer mam will be able to talk him into staying a few days at least––whatever he thinks of me he respects her and wouldna refuse. I only hope ye’ll have some time to know him better before he goes again.”

“I’d like that too,” she agreed. 

“Now I believe it’s yer turn,  _ a leannan _ . How is it ye’ve come back here again?”

Brianna explained about Jem’s abduction and Roger’s search, finding Jem again and having no way to let Roger know save one. 

“Once we found him, there was only one place we could think to go where we might truly be safe,” she told him but refused to look at him. She had left out the part where first Roger and then she and the children had stopped at Lallybroch. It was still too raw for her to wrap her mind around and with thoughts of William’s presence still fresh in her mind… She needed the distraction and the joy of the gathering to settle her racing thoughts; to see her cousin again, meet his wife and son, to watch Jem and Germain playing and hear other people’s stories. 

“We’re glad to have ye back,” Jamie assured her by reaching an arm around her shoulders and pulling her in to kiss the top of her head. “One of the better surprises we’ve had lately.”

“Are we almost there yet?” Mandy whined having stopped and waited for them to catch up. “My feet hurt and dinna wanna walk any more.”

“It’s no much farther,” Jamie informed her before stooping to the ground and encouraging her to climb aboard his back. “Just at the crest of this rise ye’ll be able to see their wee clearing. If ye listen close ye can hear the folks who’re already there and can ye no smell the smoke from the fire? They’ll be roasting meat from our cooking supper on the wind before long and it’s yer belly it’ll be speaking to when it does, tellin’ it how tasty it’ll be to gobble up.”

Mandy giggled against Jamie’s back, her grouchiness already fading now that he carried her. 

“I could eat a whole coo I’m sae hungry,” she declared. 

“And what of Jem?” Would ye settle for half and share wi’ him?”

“He can have the front half and I’ll have the back,” Mandy announced after a moment’s thought. “I want the half wi’ the milk.”

Jamie laughed and hurried forward when Mandy urged him to go faster so they’d get to the cow before Jem could lay claim to the back half. 

Soon it was Roger at Brianna’s side as they reached the crest of the hill and saw the new house and clearing spread before them. A small cabin was off to the side and the large, central area of the yard before the new house had the beginnings of a bonfire under way.

“I’m not sure I’ll recognize half the faces here,” Brianna confessed as she and Roger began to pick their way down the slight slope. “Where did all these children come from?” she gestured to the crowded clearing. 

“Well, when a man and a woman––” Roger began in a teasing tone before Brianna pinched his arm in response. “But aye, I ken what ye mean. We had yer parents’ letters but it’s still hard to think of how time was passing here too without us.”

“It’s not the place we left. It doesn’t… it doesn’t feel as much like coming home as I thought it would,” she lamented. “But then, Lallybroch didn’t feel quite right either––not without Mama and Da.”

“We’ve still got a plot of land staked out in there somewhere,” he reminded her, nodding to the wilderness. “We’ll just have to work at building a place to feel like home… perhaps with some sort of indoor plumbing or heating. Now ye’ve had a refresher in how they work, I’m sure ye’ve a few ideas in mind for how to make those happen here.”

Brianna smiled but before she could respond she heard her cousin Ian let out a whoop of excitement and run over to wrap her in a hug. 

“Ye’re really here,” he exclaimed with a laugh. “I cannae wait for ye to meet Rachel and the wean,” he said with a glance over his shoulder to where Dottie was talking with Jenny and another woman––Rachel, no doubt––the three women cooing over and comparing the two babies. “We’ve the old cabin Dottie can use now and the house is done. We were goin’ to make it up for Mam but she isna ready to part from our wee Brian. Aye, for Grandda Fraser but also for you, Bree. Didna think we’d see ye again though I’ve told Rachel of ye. I something wrong?”

Ian’s eyes darkened with concern as he looked between Brianna and Roger. They each sought the other, hands clutching reassuringly at their sides and helping to calm them in their surprise. 

“I saw him,” Brianna whispered. “Our grandfather.” 

“It’s a bit of a tale,” Roger began to elaborate. “We had a bit of a stop off before arriving in this time. I actually stayed over at Lallybroch. Met Brian Fraser…  _ and _ his daughter, Janet.” 

Jamie had deposited Mandy somewhere and was coming towards them. 

Brianna gave her head a subtle shake to ask Ian to say nothing but it didn’t look like he had found the words yet anyway. 

“They’re getting Dottie settled now but she’s forgotten some of the bairn’s things in the wagon back home. I’ll be back wi’ em before long,” he informed them. 

“Make sure William kens he’s welcome,” Ian blurted as Jamie turned up the path. “I dinna expect it’ll change his mind…”

“Rachel said the same,” Jamie told him. “I’ll pass the word along.”

“Ye havena told him yet?” Ian asked when Jamie was safely out of earshot. 

“Hasn’t been a whole lot of time,” Brianna said defensively. “We had barely said hello when William and Dottie showed up. Feels like a bit much to ask him to deal with for a single day.”

Ian nodded his understanding while Roger squeezed her hand to calm her down. 

“If ye were there when Grandda Fraser was alive… it’s more’n forty years,” Ian estimated with awe. Then a thought struck him and he started. “My mam kens the whole truth of it now––yer mam and the stones… She might remember––”

“Da said they’d told her. Even so, as you said, it’s been more than forty years for her,” Brianna pointed out. 

“Though a might less for me,” Roger remarked with some amazement of his own. He watched Jenny Murray with her daughter-in-law and the other young woman. 

“Ian!” Bobby Higgins called from near the fire––they were ready to begin cooking food now that most of the invited guests had arrived. 

“I’ll come help ye,” Roger offered, following Ian and leaving Brianna alone to wade into the sea of curiosity as the tide continued to rise with each new arrival who recognized her; she was one of the MacKenzies supposed to be in France these last few years. 

Before sucking it up to take the plunge, Brianna scanned the clearing to try reassure herself by locating her children. 

Jem was easy to spot with his shock of red hair. The boy he was standing with must be Germain though she was having a difficult time reconciling the mental image she had filed away with the young man at her son’s side. They were looking at something passed back and forth between them; what the object was, she probably didn’t want to know.

There was a group of girls minding the younger children but she didn’t see Mandy with either the girls in charge or the younger children. 

“I ken the look of a mother searching for her wean,” Jenny said from close by. Mandy was in her arms, her face buried in Jenny’s neck in an attempt to hide. 

“I’m looking for my wee lass. Do you think you could help me to find her. Her name is Amanda but sometimes she’ll com if you just call for Mandy,” Brianna played along. 

Mandy giggled but continued to burrow her face into Jenny’s neck, attempting to hide in plain sight. 

“Aye, I’ll help ye look but how should I ken the lass were I to look at her?”

“Well, she has hair dark and curly like yours does just there at your shoulder.” Brianna reached out and touched the curve of Mandy’s head. “And she’s wearing a dress that matches the pattern of your shawl here.”

As Brianna poked at Mandy’s dress, the young girl shrieked with laughter and peered up from Jenny’s neck.

“It’s me, Mam!” she cried, jolting in Jenny’s arms so that the older woman lurched to stay on her feet. Brianna successfully grabbed Many before anyone got hurt. 

“So it is!” Brianna exclaimed with a smile. “And here I’d been looking all over for you. Have you seen the girls over there playing? Do you think you might like to introduce them to Esmeralda?”

Mandy’s curls danced about her cheeks as she nodded and squirmed to be put back down. She pranced over to the cluster of Ridge children without looking back. 

“Sometimes I worry she might be  _ too _ fearless,” Brianna mused. 

“A bit like both yer parents that way,” Jenny remarked, watching Brianna watch Mandy. “Though she favors Claire in looks… apart from her eyes, that is.”

“My husband, Roger, is dark like that too and the eyes are his as well.”

“When I saw Jamie coming down with the lass… I dinna ken as I’ve seen my brother that pleased with himself in an age. And that’s yer lad over there, no?” Jenny nodded to Jem and Germain. When Brianna confirmed her suspicions, Jenny smiled, her eyes wet but pleased. “Jamie did say he was like Willie.”

For a brief moment Brianna was back on that hillside in Scotland listening to her grandfather’s voice break as she spoke the names of his dead wife and son.

“I ken ye werena in France,” Jenny said quietly a few moments later. Jem and Germain had gone to help Ian and Roger at the fireside. “Yer mam…”

“I know. She said they told you everything.”

“And Ian too… before he passed. I’m glad he learned the truth. He and I… for years after yer mother was lost, we worried about Jamie. We couldna understand…” She sighed. “But now it makes sense. And there are regrets I carry that are heavier for the knoiwng, though I ken they shouldna be so. I spent so long worrying he’d never have children of his own to love and care for… to take care of him when he grew older… And all along he was holding the knowledge of you dearer than anything, using ye to help keep him going… because he didna trust me to believe him.” She shook her head shamefully. 

Brianna stepped closer and hugged Jenny tight. “You know that’s not why he didn’t say anything. And even if you did believe him, there’s nothing you could have done.”

Jenny snorted with amusement. “There’s things I could have  _ not _ done, though. Ye’ve heard enough of Laoghaire to ken the truth of  _ that _ , but I appreciate ye sayin’ it. And I’m glad I’ve a chance to see you and Jamie together at last… and him wi’ yer bairns. It’s what I’ve wanted for him most in life, for I kent how sorely  _ he _ wanted it. From what he and Claire said when they told us… they didna seem to think ye’d come back to this time once ye’d made it back safe to yer own time.”

“Well, we certainly didn’t plan much of it, no,” Brianna confirmed. “But I can’t say we regret finding ourselves here again. Jem missed it here especially though Mandy has no memory of it.”

“What… what’s it like there–– _ then _ ?” There was a subtle and fearful curiosity in Jenny’s tone. 

“It’s… different… but there are lots of things that don’t change. Clothes and machines change, but people don’t for the most part. Some will always be warm and welcoming and others will be out for themselves.”

“It must be strange for ye to look round here and ken how it’ll all turn out––what will matter and what won’t.”

“It all matters.”

“So long as there’s someone there to remember it,” Jenny added. She turned to go to the cabin to see if Rachel and Dottie needed help but Brianna’s voice stopped her. 

“Roger and I bought Lallybroch.”

She felt more than saw Jenny stiffen and turn back toward her. 

“We bought it through an agent from a family of Murrays. They hadn’t lived there for almost a decade at that point so there were a few things that needed fixing, but the agent said the house had been in the Murray family for almost ten generations––all the way back to the ‘45.”

Brianna turned her head to look at her aunt; tears pooled in Jenny’s eyes as she watched Ian and no doubt thought about her other children and grandchildren living in Scotland, of her beloved husband buried in the soil he had tilled almost his entire life. 

“The marks on the doorframe––the lintel––from the English soldiers’ swords… Uncle Ian said they were left there so we’d always remember. Those are still there too. I made sure to tell Jem and Mandy about them… and Uncle Ian.”

“Thank ye, lass,” Jenny choked out, reaching to give Brianna’s arm a squeeze before repeating, “thank ye.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Hello, since Roger met young Jenny in book 8 and now they're both at the Ridge, would one of you awesome people write how that might affect their (re?)introductions and their interactions? Thank you

Having helped Bobby Higgins with the food and the fire, Roger and Ian drifted to the side, their heads bowed together and presumably watching the boys play.

“What was she like?” Ian asked. “My mam. It’s hard to think of her ever being so young.”

“It’ll certainly make ye feel old when ye tell yer kids a tale of yer youth and ye see the skeptical look in their eye,” Roger grinned watching Jem with Germain. “Ye’ve a bit longer before ye need to worry about that wi’ yer wean.” 

Ian smiled and looked over his shoulder to where Rachel and Dottie were hovering near the door to the house with Brian and Minnie in their arms. 

“I couldna believe how small he was when he was born and now… He’s already smiling and seems to ken what he’s about. But ye’ve no answered my question.”

“She was a lovely young woman and clearly verra strong and sure of herself… but I’ve never met her other than that so I doubt I’ll be able to tell ye much how she’s changed––if at all,” Roger pointed out. 

“Then ye really need to meet her now,” Ian pressed. He turned and began walking towards his mother and cousin leaving Roger to stand awkwardly and decide whether it would be best to remain where he was and avoid Jenny Murray or to follow Ian and get the introduction over with. 

“Aunt Jenny,” Brianna interrupted her own conversation with her aunt when she saw Roger approaching a few steps behind Ian. “This is my husband, Roger MacKenzie.” 

“Mistress Murray,” Roger said with an awkward bow. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet ye, Roger,” Jenny responded with a smile and polite nod of her own. “The folk in these parts have quite a few tales to tell of Roger Mac as a man who managed to escape and unjust death. The truth of who ye are and where ye’re from may no be so hard for them to believe… of you at least,” she added with a glance of doubt at Brianna, her voice conspiratorially quiet. 

Roger flushed and reached up to fiddle with the stock at his throat, loosening it out of habit. Ties back in the twentieth century had been worse, their narrowness more evocative of the rope than the wider cloth there now but the strangling sensation often led him to remove it entirely, especially if there was no company but family and friends about. At such a public gathering, however, Roger stopped shy of anything that would only draw further attention to his neck. 

Jenny gasped at the gesture and Roger’s hand froze at the knot. He looked over to see that she had gone white and Ian had laid a supportive hand on her shoulder. Jenny looked questioningly to her son and niece before staring hard at Roger. 

“I’ve seen ye before, haven’t I,” she stated in a trembling voice.

Roger nodded. 

“I was looking for my son with the help of a kinsman,” Roger said. “You and yer father were kind and a great help to us.” 

“He––yer son––you’re speaking of Jem?” she stammered. 

“It’s a long story,” Brianna answered with a sigh.

“How long?” Jenny asked, her eyes still fixed on Roger.

Roger scratched awkwardly at his head before finally meeting his gaze. 

“Only a few months for us,” he said quietly. “Not much longer than what it takes to sail from Scotland and make yer way this far inland. Far longer for you.”

“We thought Jem had been taken through the stones, which was why Roger went looking for him. If he had and he got away, we hoped he’d make for Lallybroch. But he hadn’t been taken there so the only way to get word to Roger was to go back with the children and find him myself,” Brianna rambled to explain.

Jenny was shaking her head slowly back and forth. It was too much to make sense of at the moment. 

“More’n forty years for me and only months for you,” she muttered. “I’d have recognized ye––at least enough to mistake ye for yer own son––but now I ken the truth…”  The color of self-consciousness rose in her cheeks. “But… the kinsman ye had with ye…” She glanced around the gathered men and women of the Ridge searching for similar newly arrived outsider. “Who is he to ye and where is he?”

Roger’s face darkened. “He was from this time to start and a cousin to you and Jamie––though I didna tell him so,” Roger confessed with an involuntary shudder. When Jenny’s brow drew in on itself he added, “Dougal,” and the furrows vanished with an unsurprised roll of her eyes. 

She hadn’t met Dougal MacKenzie more than a handful of times when he’d visited Lallybroch to retrieve or return Jamie from his fostering while in his teens, but she’d heard enough about her uncle. 

“Buck found his way to us through the stones. It was an accident on his part, comin’ through like that. He sought a way back to his wife and child. We called Jem for my father who was named for Buck’s son––Jeremiah MacKenzie,” Roger told Jenny. “But from what I kent of my family tree, he’ll have been lost to the stones on his way to find them.”

Somber silence fell on the four before Ian spoke up.

“Isn’t he the one who…” and Ian gestured to his neck.

Roger laughed and the quiet moment passed. 

“Aye but he came to understand and appreciate me more in the end, though begrudgingly I think.”

“If I were you and I kent when he’d die, I think I’d have told him,” Ian muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. “Let him wrestle with that a bit.”

Roger shook his head. “That would have been too cruel. No man should ken the day they’ll die like that. It kills yer hope and ye need that to face life and what it holds.” 

“Mama told Black Jack Randall when he would die,” Brianna reminded Roger. “When she went to rescue Da from Wentworth.” She flushed as she felt her aunt’s eyes on her face. How much had her parents told Aunt Jenny about what had happened at Wentworth?

“Now there’s a bastard who deserved to know when he would die and squirm as he counted down,” Jenny remarked with a hint of satisfaction.

She knew enough, apparently. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: When Bree and her family return from the future, she and claire are reminiscing about about what had changed in the 10 years they were in the past and what they miss about the future. It could lead to a sweet moment where jamie again is overjoyed that claire came back through time and chose to stay the first time around.

Claire waited up for Jamie to return. There had been little noise from William’s room above her head for some time and she hoped he was sleeping comfortably. She wouldn’t be able to rest until she’d had more time to gauge how Jamie was handling everything, until _she_ had had time to grasp how she felt, not just about William staying with them but about Brianna and Roger’s return. Jem and Mandy had grown so much—to see Mandy walking, talking, running, and laughing, with a healthy flush to her cheeks and that familiar, wild cloud of hair bouncing with every step…

Flames danced in the hearth as the embers beneath the larger logs ebbed and flowed from a deep red glow to white hot ash.

To unexpectedly go from having only Germain and Fanny in their care to a house full of their children and grandchildren… She worried about the impact Brianna and Roger’s arrival would have on William. Would the hustle and bustle of so many people help him feel he could more comfortably blend in, or would it overwhelm him?

At last she heard voices from the yard and she roused herself to meet them at the door.

Brianna had returned with Jamie, looking exhausted but also relieved.

She strode up the stairs and across the porch to wrap her arms tightly around Claire.

Claire stood there, her own exhaustion sweeping away the last of what had been holding her together and a wave of tears finally broke free. Then Jamie too was standing with them, his thick arms pulling them against the warmth of his broad chest. They remained embracing one another on the porch until Brianna pulled away in order to wipe her eyes, and then reached up to wipe the dampness from Claire’s cheeks as well.

“We shouldn’t be standing out here like this,” Claire scolded, dabbing her nose with the back of her hand until Jamie offered her and handkerchief. “Come inside. I’ll make us some tea. William’s asleep upstairs.”

“And now he knows,” Brianna remarked, still amazed.

“I think he’ll benefit from a talk with you,” Claire told her as she led the way into the house and made a straight line for the kettle.

“How much does he know?” Brianna asked, taking a seat at the table. “I mean… he knows that he’s my brother… but have you told him about where we’ve been—where we’ve _really_ been?”

“He doesna know about the stones, no,” Jamie confirmed, carefully lowering himself into the chair nearest the fire. He began stretching his limbs one by one and turning them about as though testing the joints for stiffness. “I dinna ken as it would be wise to tell him so much when he’s still so… hesitant.”

“No mentions of planes, trains, or automobiles,” Brianna nodded as Claire too settled into a chair and sighed. “I thought I gained an appreciation for those when I first came through and had to do without… but traveling with small children? I thought we’d never make it. It would have taken less than a day to get here from Charleston if we’d had a car. Instead it’s been _weeks_.”

“And what of the… _rockets_?” Jamie asked, looking to Claire to confirm the word he’d used was the one he’d meant. “When ye came to us the first time ye said that man had already walked on the moon in yer time and they were sayin’ Mars was next. Have they made it that far yet? Or are they settin’ about buildin’ colonies on the moon first?”

Brianna chuckled. “Mars is still just a hope but a few more feet have walked the surface of the moon. No colonies yet but there are a few space stations floating around out there with astronauts and scientists doing experiments.”

“Brave men,” Jamie remarked, clearly intimidated and confounded by the thought.

“Jem took a shine to space exploration while we were there—then. Spent a few weeks wanting to be an astronaut,” Brianna explained.

“You were gone for longer than I was when you went back,” Claire noted with a spark of surprise. “There wasn’t a lot I missed—not that I would have noticed given the state I was in… But almost seven years…”

“We had Mandy as our excuse for being… _distracted_ ,” Brianna agreed. “But Joe brought us up to speed pretty quickly—and we did a bit of studying while Mandy was in hospital.” She lifted her fingers and began counting off the major events. “The Vietnam War ended—neither side really won; the Soviets are still our biggest threat and trying to beat them is a lot of what seems to be driving the exploration of space; remember I told you Nixon was president when I left? Well, there was some _huge_ scandal and he actually resigned.”

“Your father met Washington!” Claire interjected before clapping her hand over her mouth and apologizing. “I just… if anyone was going to appreciate that, it would be you.”

“You _met_ him?” Brianna asked, mouth gaping open. “I dressed up as him for a school project once and you’ve actually _met_ him?”

“Yer mam got to know Benedict Arnold,” Jamie countered by way of accusation.

“Mama?” Brianna turned on Claire with obvious shock.

“I found him charming and sympathetic,” Claire said, trying to hide her smile. “And he hasn’t turned traitor yet. I still can’t imagine what he must go through to get from where he is now to what he’ll become.” There was a more somber note in the reflection that countered the previously jovial air.

“I’ve been dealing with misogyny at work every day and the two of you have been galavanting with the founding fathers,” Brianna said with a disbelieving chuckle before letting loose a loud sigh.

“Are ye no happy to be back, _a nighean_?” Jamie asked, cautiously. “It’s a lot has changed, I ken, and wi’ the war no over I’m sure ye must be worried…”

Brianna shook her head. “I’m very happy just… It’s an adjustment. Finding Roger was so important and then there was the ordeal of getting here… I simply haven’t had much time to stop and think till now—to… process it all.”

“Mmmm,” her mother nodded. “To realize again all the things you’re giving up. And the children too.”

“Mandy’s too young to remember living in this time. She’s used to… refrigerators… ready markets and shops… Pop-Tarts and Saturday morning cartoons.”

“And Jem? Did the lad enjoy those things?” Jamie asked.

Brianna nodded. “I tried to squeeze as much of that in for them, before we came through looking for Roger. I took the children back to Boston to visit Joe and make arrangements… took them to Disneyland so Jem will have a tale to tell you about Mickey Mouse—if Mandy doesn’t tell you about it first. He understood what was going on… I just wish I knew if he’s actually happy about it or if he’s just acting that way to make me feel better. I know he’s happy to see you again, and he’s missed Germain as well… but there’s so much there for him too—his friends and school, the opportunities.”

Jamie was shaking his head, his eyes wet with unshed tears. Claire reached over and took his hand, squeezing it with a wordless question.

“I’m alright,” he assured her, forcing a smile. “It just makes me even more amazed that the lot of ye ever made the choice to come here at all, let alone stay here. And all because you can pass through and I cannot. I dinna think I’ll ever feel worth the trouble,” he confessed, trying to laugh it off. But his hand trembled in Claire’s grip.

Claire took her hand from his and reached up with both to rest on either side of his face to encourage him to meet her eye.

“You, Jamie Fraser, are worth every bit of trouble,” she told him. “And—you know I hate to admit this, so I hope you appreciate it… but I claim personal responsibility for at least half the trouble we’ve found ourselves in over the years—but _only_ half.”

Jamie laughed at that and leaned forward to press a kiss her forehead. “As ye say,” he nodded. “We’re two halves of a whole, Sassenach, whether in trouble or in fortune. And I’d no have it any other way.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Brianna doesn’t like how coldly and disdainfully William treats Jamie and confronts him about it.

Claire didn’t open her eyes but she began to wake as she felt the bed shifting with Jamie’s stretching. Lying flat on his back through the night, he always began the day by sticking his legs out straight beneath the covers—disturbing her pocket of warmth—then arching his back and rolling his shoulders so that Claire found herself smiling at the quiet pops of his joints and the groan of relief in their wake. 

She turned into him and slipped an arm across his waist. 

“Stay,” she murmured into his shoulder. 

“Stay?” he asked, a hand sliding up her thigh, inching under her shift. 

“Stay,” she purred, reaching down to guide his fingers higher. 

Soon she was the one whose back was arching and whose joints were popping. 

But then Jamie’s hand stopped and he was chuckling in her ear, kissing her cheek, and leaving the bed. 

Panting and flushed, Claire pushed herself up on her arms, her legs feeling gelatinous. 

“Where’re you going?” she whined. 

“If I dinna feed and water the animals, they’ll be bleating and makin’ such a racket I’ll no be able to enjoy myself properly,” he explained as he pulled up and buttoned his breeks. 

“So you  _ do _ plan to come back here and uh… finish what you started…” she remarked, looking up at him through her messy curls. 

“Oh, aye,” he nodded, bending to kiss her one more time. “It’s no every day we dinna have Germain and Fanny about interruptin’ us.”

“No, we only have Bree and William in the house,” she reminded him. 

“But they’re old enough to ken better’n to burst in on a man and his wife still abed,” Jamie theoriezed. “And if I intend to still be abed wi’ my wife when they wake, I need to tend the animals right away.”

“Chop chop, then,” Claire said with a sigh, leaning back against the pillows as she watched him leave and quietly closed the door behind him.

She could hear the world slowing waking with the growing light of dawn outside. The birds chattering as they warmed up to sing their morning songs. The chipmunks and squirrels scurrying about as they scavenged for their breakfasts. And the horses and Clarence in the barn, neighing and braying their welcome for Jamie as he came to feed them and let them into their paddock. 

Beneath the blankets, her hand slipped to where her shift was still rucked up around her hips, her flesh still heated and sensitive, waiting for Jamie’s touch to return. He’d gotten her so close before breaking away, the teasing bastard. She lightly stroked higher with the tips of her fingers. It wouldn’t take too long for her to get herself the rest of the way and it wouldn’t take long for Jamie to get her right back there again when he did return to their bed… and twice in one morning was better than once—or none… 

She was writhing and clutching the blankets tight in her free hand when a creaking from the hallway caught her attention and she reluctantly stilled the hand at work between her legs to listen closer. 

The footsteps were moving away down the hall toward the stairs. Not Jamie returning then. And there was no way that Brianna was awake when her husband and children had spent the night over at Ian and Rachel’s. Which meant it was William up and about and she should get herself out of bed in order to play proper hostess… or referee. 

With a sigh, she sat up and threw back the blankets. She and Jamie would find a few moments sometime later and maybe she’d set him the challenge of getting her to finish twice. For now she needed clothes and then she needed to fix breakfast, and make sure William didn’t try to wriggle out of this unexpected visit early.

* * *

William had heard Jamie leave the house and finally felt it might be safe to emerge from his room. He hadn’t slept well, his thoughts refusing to settle as she lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling.

Jamie Fraser had built it. He’d built the whole house and had done a lot to shape and build the surrounding community of the Ridge as well, bringing families to clear and settle the land. It was an impressive feat and one that left William grappling, once again, with both admiration and resentment for the man who’d fathered him. Where exactly the resentment stemmed from, he hadn’t been able to nail down; rather, it seemed to shift and fold back on itself.

He knew that it was circumstances as much as anything that kept those who knew the truth of his parentage from sharing it with him. And it was so much easier to lay the fault for that at Jamie’s feet than at those of John Grey or the only mother he’d ever known, Isobel Dunsany Grey. It had been for his protection, to ensure his way in the world was secure. 

Yet seeing Jamie with Mother Claire here where they’d built their home… seeing them with their daughter—his sister—and her family… It made him curious about what might have been, had circumstances been different. Of course, that flash of curiosity that struck like lightning was soon followed by the echoing thunder of betrayal. He didn’t miss his mother, exactly—he hadn’t known her, after all, only her absence. And given what he’d been told about her character, he wasn’t sure what sort of mother she would have made.

Mother Claire had said she liked to think of him as the son they would have had. Well, despite all the anecdotal evidence to the contrary, he wanted to think his mother would have been like Mother Claire. And as much as he wanted to continue to loathe Jamie Fraser for being his father and shattering the sense of himself that he’d built over the course of his life (for showing him just how fragile a thing it had been)... William trusted Mother Claire’s judgement. And his father’s. Both cared a great deal about Jamie Fraser and thought highly of him. 

Too much thinking. William needed to move and the small space of the bedroom Mother Claire had given him felt like it was growing smaller by the minute. 

Having dressed, he slipped downstairs as quietly as he could so as not to wake anyone else. 

He meant to slip outside and go for a walk, but from the parlor he caught a glimpse of movement out the window. Jamie was moving about the yard, carrying buckets from a nearby spring to the barn—for the animals, no doubt. Competing impulses rose in him again—to go outside and offer his assistance or to sneak to the back of the house and see if there was an exit there that he might utilize to escape into the woods without being noticed. 

Instead of either, he found himself wandering the house, following a path that kept Jamie in sight through the windows as he went about his chores. 

Claire found him by the window in her surgery. 

“You must be hungry,” she greeted him with a smile. “Breakfast won’t take too long but I’ve bread and honey in the kitchen if you need a bite to tide you over.”

“I thank you,” he replied, finding it easy to return her smile. “Is there anything I might do to be of assistance?”

“There’s some wood stacked near the back by the kitchen door. Would you fetch me a bit while I get the fire going again?”

William nodded and followed her direction to the wood pile. But somehow Jamie had beat him to it and was already gathering a few logs. 

“Oh. Good morning,” William sputtered. “Mother—Mrs. Fraser sent me to… But I see you have it under control.”

“Aye. And good mornin’ to ye as well. I was just finishin’ wi’ the animals. Apologies if ‘twas me that woke ye.”

“No, I’m up with the dawn. Soldier’s habit, I suppose.”

“I’m the same, though it’s as much down to farmin’ as soldierin’,” Jamie said, following William back into the house. 

“There you are, Jamie,” Claire remarked with a smile as she held a taper to the glowing embers while it lit before using that to reignite the kindling. Jamie set the logs next to her for when there was enough steady flame to begin introducing them to the fire.

“D’ye need me to fetch ye some eggs from the coop?” Jamie asked. 

William could feel their gaze sliding to him as covertly as possible, gauging him and his reactions as he watched them openly. He bristled, uncomfortable with the attention. Saying nothing, he turned and left the kitchen, finding his way to the front parlor. 

The back door opened and closed again. Claire must have agreed to incorporating eggs into their breakfast. 

“You could offer to help,” Brianna said, yawning as she came down the stairs. She clearly hadn’t taken much time dressing. Her hair looked like it had only been combed with her fingers and her dress itself looked like it had been barely brushed after spending the night in a pile on the floor. “I know you’re a guest here but you don’t have to stand on ceremony with us. And… doing things together will help you get to know him—get to know us.”

“I did offer,” William told her quietly. “My assistance wasn’t necessary and I’ve no desire to get in the way.”

Brianna gave him a skeptical look before heading to help her mother in the kitchen. 

William was ready to kick himself for his awkward handling of the situation. He wanted to go back to his room and hide, or better yet, take his leave and be done with it; go back to trying to put the Frasers and that truth behind him. 

But he owed too much to them—for what they’d done taking in Fanny, for helping with her sister… And his curiosity would nag at him if he tried to leave. 

He sighed, returned to the kitchen, and stood near the wall where he hoped he was out of the way. 

Claire made small talk while she and Brianna cooked. Jamie returned with the eggs and then began questioning his daughter about her son’s progress with his schooling. 

“He made such progress while we were away,” Brianna said with pride. “And Mandy’s sharp as a tack, too. She already knows her letters and her memory—she had her three favorite story books memorized and scolded when Roger or I missed a page.”

“Ye’ll be wantin’ ‘em to get back to some sort of schedule with their studies, no?” Jamie asked. “If ye need help wi’ that, say the word.”

“Wouldn’t a tutor be better suited to such a task?” William spoke up.

“Aye,” Jamie agreed. “It’s been a while since I had my own tutor—and I’m afraid I gave the man a harder time that he deserved—but seein’ as tutors are rare in these parts, I’m sure I could serve well enough.”

“You were educated by a tutor?” He shouldn’t have been so surprised—he knew part of what his father valued in Jamie Fraser’s friendship was the intellectual stimulation it provided. It only made sense the man had been tutored. William was suddenly aware of how little he knew of Jamie Fraser. 

“Till I was old enough to go away to  _ université _ .”

Claire was stirring something in a pot and beginning to scoop it into bowls for them. “Jamie has a knack for languages,” she informed him. “It’s proven valuable for dealing with the local natives.”

She nodded for William to join them at the table and placed the bowl in front of him. 

“I don’t know if you’ve had parritch before, but it’s a staple around here,” Claire said, smiling to Jamie as he tucked in. 

“I’m sure I’ve had worse,” William responded. Brianna made a low, exasperated noise. “That is to say, I’m familiar with eating new things of necessity thanks to the army.” He shovelled a spoonful into his mouth to keep it from talking himself into further awkwardness. 

They were quiet for a few moments, using the act of eating as an excuse to remain silent. 

Then Claire addressed Jamie. “Would you be able to help me get the butter churn going after this? I think we put it away in the barn. You pull it out and get it in working order again, and I can start on the milking.”

“Aye… I’ll help ye wi’ that,” Jamie responded slowly, then hastily finished his parritch.

Claire moved to begin clearing the dishes while she still had several bites in her bowl.

“Leave it, Mama,” Brianna told her. “William and I will clean up here. You… go get to work on getting that butter churning.” 

Claire appeared to stifle a giggle as she followed Jamie out the back door and to the barn, muttering a, “Thank you,” to Brianna and William. 

Brianna stood and set her parents’ bowls aside in a basin of water to soak, then returned to her own unfinished breakfast. 

“Are you trying to sound like a judgemental ass or is that part of the package when you get to be an Earl?” Brianna asked. 

“I beg your pardon?” William set his spoon down so he wouldn’t risk choking. “I apologize if anything I’ve done or said has been misinterpreted—”

“You can stop trying to be so polite,” Brianna interrupted. “That’s just another way to avoid your issues and they won’t get better until you confront them. I’m your big sister, so you can trust me when I say, I’ve been there and I know what you’re going through.”

William fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Oh you do, do you?”

“I do,” Brianna asserted, leaning forward onto the table as she stood. “I’m gonna tell you about it, and you’re gonna listen, because I’m not gonna watch you take your frustrations out on Da or Mama or anyone else around here.”

Indignation surged through William and brought heat to his cheeks. 

“I’m not—”

“I was about the same age you are when I learned Jamie Fraser was my father,” Brianna said, shocking William into silence. 


End file.
